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Friends

 

We didn’t know each other when we arrived at this summer camp in eastern Kansas, but we three become friends over night during our sophomore year of high school. We did everything together at the camp.

One night one of our threesome did something he should not have done. After he did what he did we all went back to our tent and went to bed. A couple hours later after the dozen boys in our old army barracks tent were all asleep the leaders of the camp were banging on our door. They were screaming the threesomes friends last names and demanding we come outside the tent immediately.

It was a hot summer night and all we had on was our underwear and we were sleeping on top of our cots. We three jumped up and ran outside. We were told to line up and stand at attention. The leaders then started asking us which one of us three had done the terrible deed? None of us said anything.

The leaders then started yelling in our faces, telling us what they were going to do to all three of us if we didn’t tell on the one that did the terrible deed. We refused to talk. We were friends and we were all going to go down together, if those leaders couldn’t figure out which one of us was guilty.

The Bible has many thoughts on friends and what we should do. Be wise this summer.

Proverbs 12:26 The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend is always loyal and a brother is born to help in time of need.

Proverbs 18:24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 22:24-25 Do not be a friend of one who has a bad temper and never keep company with a hothead or you will learn his ways and set a trap for yourself.

Tackling Drills

The Head Football Coach was angry. He and the assistant coaches were running the football team through variations of tackling drills early in the season, and coach was not happy! All of a sudden the coach stops the tackling drill brings everyone in close and screams as loud as he can, “Have any of you guys ever been in a fist fight? Have you ever got angry enough at someone that you wanted to punch them? That is the kind of attitude I want to see in our tackling drills from now on!”

Peter, in the Bible, got angry when they came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest servant as he struck the servant in the head. You can bet Peter didn’t just come up behind the servant and grab his ear and cut it off quickly. No Peter pulled his sword and then attacked Malchus just like you would in a fist fight or a tackling drill!

John 18:10 “Then Simon Peter having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.” Jesus did tell Peter to put away his sword and then healed Malchus’s ear.

So have you ever been in a fist fight? The worst punch I ever received was when I took my eye off of my adversary. I did not see the punch coming. That is the worst punch satan will ever give you, is when you take your eye off of him. You take your eye off satan when you don’t believe in him. Research shows that well over half the church going people in America don’t believe in satan and that includes pastors, priests and ministers. So is it any wonder satan is knocking out families, pastors and priest left and right because people don’t believe in satan and they don’t see the punch coming.

Now I am not advocating punching anyone and getting into fist fights to prove anything. That is foolishness. But I do know you need to be ready to fight with satan. This fight will be in your mind. That is where the real battleground will be found. The fight with satan should be just like a tackling drill or a fist fight and you need to bring some attitude to the fight. Who will win that fight in your mind, satan or Jesus?

Matthew 12:30 Jesus says, “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”

2 Corinthians 6:15 “What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?”